Workpiece manipulator



1966 w D. GOODBERLET 3,236,395

WORKPIECE MANIPULATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 19, 1965 INVENTOR. Mil/AM 0. GOODBEQLET 75% ATTORNEY 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 19, 1963 R O T N E V m Wit/4M0 60005521167 Lza 14% ATTORNEY 1966 w. D. GOODBERLET 3,236,396

WORKPIECE MANIPULATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 19, 1963 INVENTOR. MAL/AM 0. 600.0BERL E7 ATTORNEY United States Patent Patented Feb. 22, 1966 dice 3,236,396 WORKPIECE MANIPULATOR William Donald Goodberlet, Pittsburgh, Pa., assiguor to United Engineering and Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Elept. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 310,020 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 1, 1%2, 37,057/ 62 2 Claims. (Cl. 2141) This invention relates to an apparatus for turning or manipulating articles during their manufacture and, more particularly, to the turning or manipulating of workpieces, such as, beam and structural members incident to their production by a rolling mill.

In present-day practice, for example, in the production of Wide flange beams, the beams are individually delivered in a hot, semi-plastic condition from the last stand of the rolling mill onto a runout table with the flanges extending in a vertical direction and the lower toes thereof in engagement with the table. The beams are then transferred from the runout table to a cooling bed. Immediately upon their transfer they are rotated 90, i.e., from the position they assumed on the table to a position where the outer flat surfaces of one of the flanges becomes the supporting surfaces for the beams.

Present-day devices employed for manipulating or turning such beams and other workpieces possess some serious disadvantages. One such disadvantage has reference to the fact that the devices turn the workpieces in a manner that certain areas of the flanges are caused to carry the entire weight of the beam and, as a result, the edges of the flanges are deleteriously deformed. The degree of such deformation is increased by the fact that the beams offer little resistance to deformation due to their semiplastic condition besides the fact that they may be extremely long and possess great weight.

Another disadvantage of such devices is found in the fact that they are usually large and cumbersome and, therefore, ineflicient and uneconomical to operate.

With these disadvantages in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a manipulating or turning apparatus which, when employed to manipulate or turn hot beams, will support the beams during the operation in a manner to minimize or eliminate any tendency for the beams to be deformed due to the engagement by the apparatus.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a turning apparatus that may be employed in connection with a runout table of a rolling mill in which employment it will have the advantage of being in a position so that it will not obstruct the issuance of a workpiece onto the table.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a turning apparatus which will be inexpensive to manufacture and operate, simple to construct and readily adaptable for use with existing equipment.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a turning apparatus including an L-shaped turning member which is secured at two of its opposite ends to a pair of crank arms. The crank arm at the one end of the member has a constant effective length, whereas the arm on the other end has a variable effective length, being made up of two links joined together by a pivotal connection. The lower ends of the arms are secured to meshing gears which are simultaneously rotated in opposite directions by a suitable driving mechanism.

In order to better appreciate the aforesaid features of the present invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a turning apparatus employing the features of the present invention as incorporated in a runout table of a wide flange beam rolling mill, a portion of which table is shown in outline form,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on lines IIII shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a plane view illustrating the driving means of the turning apparatus,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on lines IVIV of FIGURE 3, and

FIGURES 5 to 9 are sequential views showing the progressive steps in the turning cycle of a beam.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2 of these drawings there is illustrated a beam runout table 10, including a plurality of spaced-apart rollers, two of which are shown at 11 in FIGURE 1. In FIGURE 2 a beam B is shown supported by the rollers 11. The rollers are received in the bearing blocks 12 and 13, secured to the top surfaces of longitudinally extending table girders 14 and 15 as best shown in FIGURE 2. Interposed between the rollers 11 and supported by the girders 14 and 15, there are located table aprons, one of which is shown at 16 in FIGURE 1. In order to facilitate the incorporation of the herein disclosed turning device the aprons are formed into two separate sections 17 and 13. It will be noted that an opening 22 exists between the sections 17 and 18 of the apron 16. The one end of the apron 16 adjacent to the girder 14 is provided with an upwardly extending side guard 19 which has a wear plate 21 to protect it from the wearing action of the beam.

With reference now to the preferred embodiment of the turning apparatus herein disclosed there is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 extending parallel to the rollers 11 and positioned in the opening 22 provided between sections 17 and 18 of the apron 16 an L-shaped beamturning platen 23. This platen includes both a short and long leg disposed at right angles of each other in which, in the inoperative position of the turning apparatus, the long leg is disposed below the top surface of the rollers 11 and the short leg behind the Wear plate 21 of the side guard 19 as one views FIGURE 2. A crank arm 24 is pivotally secured by a pin 25 at the base of the short leg and at the opposite end of the long leg a lever 26 is pivotally secured thereto by a pin 27. The lever 26, in turn, is pivotally secured to a second crank arm 28. In essence the linkage system consists of a constant length arm 24 and variable length arms 2628 which are of such predetermined lengths and so arranged with respect to the platen 23 and the drive, to be later described, that a predetermined movement of the platen 23, as illustrated in FIGURES 5-9, is assured. As Shown in FIGURE 2 the crank arms are secured to individually, parallelly arranged driving spindles 29 and 30. These driving spindles extend beneath the table 10, parallel to the girders 1d and 15, and are rotatably supported by suitable bearing blocks 31 at spaced points along their length in a usual manner, two of which are shown in FIGURE 3. It will be appreciated that depending upon the length of the beams to be rotated, it may be necessary to employ a plurality of the turning apparatuses which may be tied together through the spindles 29 and 30 and operative in unison. These apparatuses will be advantageously positioned at spaced locations along the runout table 10, the aprons thereof being modified, as in the case of the apron 16, to permit the installation thereof.

With reference now to FIGURE 3 attention is directed to the drive employed for simultaneously rotating in opposite directions the spindles 29 and 30 to effect the desired turning movement of the platen 23. The drive includes a base 32 to which, as previously noted, there is secured a pair of spaced-apart bearing blocks 31 for each spindle. Between the bearing block of each spindle there is secured thereto individual meshing spur gears 33 and 34. These gears are rotated by means of a trunnion mounted double-acting piston cylinder assembly 35 which is connected to the spindle 29 by a downwardly extending arm 36. In the illustrated device the stroke of the cylinder is sufficient to effect a 90 rotation of the platen 23 and, hence, the beam B. It will be appreciated, of course, that other driving arrangements may be provided with equal success.

The actual sequence involved in rotating the beam B by the turning apparatus may be more readily appreciated in referring to FIGURES 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Prior to the beam B issuing onto the table, the turning apparatus will be positioned in its inoperative position as shown in FIG- URE 5. It is important to note, as previously mentioned, that the short leg of the platen 23 is retracted away from the path of the beam and the horizontal surface of the long leg falls below the top of the table rollers 11 so that the beam B is free to advance over the rollers 11 which will bring the beam to a stationary position above the turning apparatus or apparatuses, if more than one is employed.

Rotation of the platen 23 is effected by the operation of the piston cylinder assembly 35 in which the initial movement is illustrated in comparing FIGURES 5 and 6. As FIGURE 6 illustrates, as the toes of the beam B are initially engaged by the platen 23, the engaging surface of the platen is coplanar with the supporting surface of the rollers 11 and the adjacent surface of the short leg of the platen 23 has been brought close to the adjacent flange of the beam B.

As the beam B is turned, it will slide down the horizontal surface of the long leg a relatively short distance until its lower flange engages the short leg of the platen at which time the beam will be supported both at its toes and by one of its flanges, which relationship is best shown in FIGURE 7.

As the rotation of the platen 23 continues, the supporting surface of the long leg thereof assumes a substantial vertical position and the similar surface of the short leg a horizontal position. This condition is best shown in FIGURE 8. It will be observed in this connection that as the platen 23 nears the completion of its movement, the beam-engaging surface of the short leg, prior to passing below the upper surface of the rollers 11, assumes a position parallel to the top surface of the rollers 11. As a result the lower flange of the beam will be set down on the rollers 11 in a horizontal position, thus minimizing any tendency of the flange to be deformed because certain areas thereof are allowed to engage the rollers before other areas thereof.

It will be appreciated that while in FIGURE 6, which illustrates the beam being initially contacted by the long leg of the platen 23, there is a space between the short leg and the beam, the linkage system can be designed to bring the short leg into close proximity to the flange prior to the beam being contacted by the long leg, thereby eliminating any relative movement between the platen 23 and the beam during the turning operation. It will be appreciated further that the herein-disclosed turning apparatus may be just as conveniently employed to rotate the beam B from a position shown in FIGURE 9 to the 4 position shown in FIGURE 5, and that by utilization of two separately, but cooperatively arranged turning apparatuses, a beam can be rotated 180, should this be desirable.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A workpiece manipulator for beams and the like having long and short sides comprising:

a workpiece carrying member, including long and short legs, said long legs corresponding in length approximately to said long side of a beam and said short leg corresponding approximately to said short side of a beam,

one of said legs arranged to initially engage the beam during its manipulation and the other leg arranged to at least thereafter engage the beam,

a pair of parallel shafts, said shafts falling within the length of said long leg of said member when in a horizontal position,

a first arm having one end connected to one of said shafts, and the other end connected to said short a second arm having one end connected to the other of said shafts,

a third arm having one end connected to said second arm and the other end connected to said long leg, said connecting points of said arms to said legs being in a plane substantially parallel to the engaging surface of one of said legs and one connecting point being below the other,

the construction being such that as the beam is first engaged and just prior to disengagement thereof the legs are alternatively presented parallel to the normal position of the beam,

a gear secured to each shaft in driving relationship with each other, and

means for rotating one of said gears to effect a movement of said member.

2. In a workpiece manipulator according to claim 1, wherein said driving means comprises a rack in meshing relationship with one of said gears, and

a piston cylinder assembly for moving said rack to effect a movement of said member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 449,511 3/1891 Aiken S3 485,982 11/1892 Potter 8053 2,669,140 2/1954 Wood 80--53 2,998,888 9/1961 Shirneld 2l41 FOREIGN PATENTS 399,889 2/ 1909 France. 906,323 3/ 1954 Germany.

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner, 

1. A WORKPIECE MANIPULATOR FOR BEAMS AND THE LIKE HAVING LONG AND SHORT SIDES COMPRISING: A WORKPIECE CARRYING MEMBER, INCLUDING LONG AND SHORT LEGS, SAID LONG LEGS CORRESPONDING IN LENGTH APPROXIMATELY TO SAID LONG SIDE TO A BEAM AND SAID SHORT LEG CORRESPONDING APPROXIMATELY TO SAID SHORT SIDE OF A BEAM, ONE OF SAID LEGS ARRANGED TO INITIALLY ENGAGE THE BEAM DURING ITS MANIPULATION AND THE OTHER LEG ARRANGED TO AT LEAST THEREAFTER ENGAGE THE BEAM, A PAIR OF PARALLEL SHAFTS, SAID SHAFTS FALLING WITHIN THE LENGTH OF SAID LONG LEG OF SAID MEMBER WHEN IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION, A FIRST ARM HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID SHAFTS, AND THE OTHER END CONNECTED TO SAID SHORT, LEG, A SECOND ARM HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO THE OTHER OF SAID SHAFTS, A THIRD ARM HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO SAID SECOND ARM AND THE OTHER END CONNECTED TO SAID LONG LEG, SAID CONNECTING POINTS OF SAID ARMS TO SAID LEGS BEING IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE ENGAGING SURFACE OF ONE OF SAID LEGS AND ONE CONNECTING POINT BEING BELOW THE OTHER, THE CONSTRUCTION BEING SUCH THAT AS THE BEAM IS FIRST ENGAGED AND JUST PAIR OF DISENGAGEMENT THEREOF THE LEGS ARE ALTERNATIVELY PRESENTED PARALLEL TO THE NORMAL POSITION OF THE BEAM, A GEAR SECURED TO EACH SHAFT IN DRIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER, AND MEANS FOR ROTATING ONE OF SAID GEARS TO EFFECT A MOVEMENT OF SAID MEMBER. 